Name: Ridge Monte Bello 2011 750ml
Brand: Ridge
SKU: 976672
Price: 203.95 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 93.5 (6 reviews)

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Winery

Ridge

Shop all from Ridge

Varietal

Cabernet Sauvignon

By far and away the most recognized and widely grown red wine grape varietal in the world is the Cabernet Sauvignon. First cultivated in the 18th century in France, this wonderful cross of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc grapes has long since been the most important varietal for red wines across the globe. Now grown everywhere from its native France to the furthest reaches of the New World, Cabernet Sauvignon is adored and prized by wineries for its hardiness and resistance to rot, as well as its large and sharp flavors and wonderful capability for fine aging Indeed, many of the finest wines of history and the modern age would be simply unimaginable without Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, with the famed wineries of Bordeaux and other important regions using it as the primary grape in their oak aged produce. High tannin levels, acidity and powerful flavors are the characteristics most commonly associated with this varietal, however, when blended and slowly aged, it is capable of a world of flavors and aromas unmatched by any other grape.

Country

United States

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.

Region

California

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.

Appellation

Santa Cruz County

JS 97pts

James Suckling

Aromas of black currant, walnut, black olive and sweet flowers. Licorice. Full body, round and soft tannins and a subtle yet rich finish. Stone undertone. Showing wonderfully now. Why wait? But it will age for decades ahead.

WA 95pts

Wine Advocate

A superb example of this chronically undersung harvest, the 2011 Monte Bello strikes me as a more contemporary version of the 1985, combining a pleasantly herbal profile with a tensile, understated core and just enough streamlined polish. It opens with a distinctly herbal, open-knit bouquet energized by streaks of menthol, underbrush, dried tobacco and chalky overtones, and it concludes with a succulent, gentle and fine-grained finish. While I don't expect this to enjoy the extraordinarily long drinking window of Monte Bello's more structural and assertive renditions—although this example was served from magnum—it is a fantastic example of a modern vintage drinking near its peak, and I suspect it will hold for the better part of a decade. It achieved 12.8% alcohol, and the blend is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc.

VM 93pts

Vinous Media

The 2011 Ridge Monte Bello is in a great spot where it is just starting to show lovely signs of aromatic development. Even so, the 2011 remains rich, deep and imposing, with tons of depth and plenty of mountain intensity. Black cherry, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice and cloves all open with a bit of coaxing. The tannins are a bit grainy, otherwise this is a very good Monte Bello in a very challenging year.

WS 92pts

Wine Spectator

This shows the cool aspect of the vintage, with more obvious maturity and a range of bay leaf, tobacco, singed sandalwood and perfume notes leading the way, while the core of fruit is mainly red in profile. The most drinkable of the young vintages currently, but there's no rush.—Non-blind Ridge Monte Bello vertical (June 2019). Drink now through 2035. 4,000 cases made.

WE 92pts

Wine Enthusiast

Ridge's historic Monte Bello estate produces black tobacco, wet slate, chalk and blueberry jam aromas in this vintage. The wine, which gets support from 14% Merlot-3% Petite Verdot-1% Cabernet Franc, is not very dense and even racy on the palate, with violet, cola, tart cranberry and darker fruit as well.

DC 92pts

Decanter

Bursting with blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, the nose is very ripe and seductive. The attack is elegant rather than explosive, but the wine is concentrated though not to excess. The tannins seem slightly dusty but not tough, and the finish is poised, subtle, and delicate rather than powerful or complex. Finely balanced and long, it should nonetheless be long-lived.

Winery Notes

The Monte Bello (originally Monte Bello Cabernet; until 1975, 100% cabernet) is the wine that introduced Ridge to the world, and the world to Ridge. It is a blend of bordeaux varietals. Cabernet sauvignon still predominates; exhaustive tasting of test blends during assemblage determines how much ”if any” merlot, petit verdot, or cabernet franc will be included in the finished wine. Almost every vintage (an unbroken chain from `62 on) has something substantive to recommend it. Every decade has its high points. Taste and opinions differ. But the just-concluded decade of the nineties has been outstanding. Generalization does a disservice to the individual wines. There's structure, there's complexity, there's balance. And they develop for a long, long time.

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Ridge Monte Bello 2011 750ml

Case of 6

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